China Now Spends $125 Billion Per Year On Riot Gear And ‘Stability Maintenance’

Mannequins in riot gear, armoured cars and drones line a police equipment and “anti-terrorism technology” trade fair in Beijing as vendors seek to profit from China’s huge internal security budget.

The country is estimated to have more than 180,000 protests each year and the ruling Communist Party spends vast sums on ensuring order — more even than on its military, the largest in the world.

Shields, batons, gun-sights on wooden rifles and more were on display at the event last week, where the capital’s own police force promoted a lie-detection system.

Two men in black uniforms marked “SWAT” inspected a pair of night-vision goggles, while a group of policemen who said they were from Jiangxi province in the south looked on as a bomb-disposal robot was put through its paces.